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First off, welcome to the neighborhood! I'm sure you and your family will love Morningside.
I know that you were not overly comfortable with a preschool in a church setting, but I would encourage you to look into Morningside Presbyterian Preschool. I've been an active member of the church for several years, and I can attest to the separation of the preschool from the church itself. Also, every student at the preschool is abundantly welcome regardless of faith, race, or nationality. I have friends who are devout Buddhists and send their children to the preschool and had nothing but wonderful things to say. Just a thought.
Here's the scoop. Private school in ATL is very competitive with recommendations, etc. It's not really something to be kind of casual about if you really want to get in. Also, the amount of work and dearth of slots is such that if you get in you will likely not casually give up your slot and think you'll drop back in another year. In Chicago, Catholic private school kind of takes most kids that can pay; they have space. In Atl, it's like this: there are 100+ kids vying in 3K at Paideia for one class of slots. In 4K it is even worse bc most of the kids move into the slots from 3K. All of that to say, if you want Paideia, know that it is tough to get in and go for it. It's not exactly something you kind of do and see if the kid likes it as you present in your posts. Cliff Valley and others mentioned, like Suzuki, are more like Catholic school up north. They take everybody as long as there is space. Ga pre-K is tricky. Some are good, some not so good. I imagine Morningside will be one of the more advanced ones academically bc the parents are more interested in upper grades at Morningside about academics and apply alot of teacher pressure. Suzuki is known for academics also although you really need to check out the class sizes and see if you are comfortable with their layout and whether your child will respind well to being in an environmt with those many kids. They have about 4-6 teaches and about 30 or so kids and so it's alot going on. I would never do it and I considered it but some ppl really like the school. If you want something kind of happy lucky in feel while still teaching the kids, probably Cliff Valley is your best bet for non-public. Beware there are app deadlines for places like Cliff Valley that are basically right around this month for next Fall's clasd so hurry and make some decisions.
Also, not exactly sure how knowledgeable your realtor is but the application period is early winter 2018 for fall 2018, not fall 2017.
Also, I wasnt really sure what you mean when you say he is "almost 4." Do you mean he would be 3 when the pre-K fall term starts? There could be age issues with public or private if so. Or do you mean when you apply and he has his interview, etc, he would be 3 but 4 by the start of the Fall pre-K year?
To clarify, Paideia is a 3K - 12th grade private school so when they admit a 4k student, that student is part of the entirety of the program. It's not like a separate 4K that students drop into for a year before kindergarten at say Morningside ES, similar to what you see at Ga pre-K, Cliff Valley, Suzuki, for example.
Last edited by LovelySummer; 02-27-2017 at 05:12 PM..
Here's the scoop. Private school in ATL is very competitive with recommendations, etc. It's not really something to be kind of casual about if you really want to get in. Also, the amount of work and dearth of slots is such that if you get in you will likely not casually give up your slot and think you'll drop back in another year. In Chicago, Catholic private school kind of takes most kids that can pay; they have space. In Atl, it's like this: there are 100+ kids vying in 3K at Paideia for one class of slots. In 4K it is even worse bc most of the kids move into the slots from 3K. All of that to say, if you want Paideia, know that it is tough to get in and go for it. It's not exactly something you kind of do and see if the kid likes it as you present in your posts. Cliff Valley and others mentioned, like Suzuki, are more like Catholic school up north. They take everybody as long as there is space. Ga pre-K is tricky. Some are good, some not so good. I imagine Morningside will be one of the more advanced ones academically bc the parents are more interested in upper grades at Morningside about academics and apply alot of teacher pressure. Suzuki is known for academics also although you really need to check out the class sizes and see if you are comfortable with their layout and whether your child will respind well to being in an environmt with those many kids. They have about 4-6 teaches and about 30 or so kids and so it's alot going on. I would never do it and I considered it but some ppl really like the school. If you want something kind of happy lucky in feel while still teaching the kids, probably Cliff Valley is your best bet for non-public. Beware there are app deadlines for places like Cliff Valley that are basically right around this month for next Fall's clasd so hurry and make some decisions.
Just to clarify on Suzuki.....I used to hear the same thing about it, that there are these huge class sizes around 30 kids or so. I then actually enrolled my child there and realized that this is just some never-ending rumor. Maybe it was that way in the past, but all of the preschool classes at least at my child's campus have only about 22-23 kids. Maybe that's still too large for some folks, but it has never felt too overwhelming, and in fact the school environment is quite orderly. My somewhat-shy child has done quite well there.
Ga pre-K is tricky. Some are good, some not so good. I imagine Morningside will be one of the more advanced ones academically bc the parents are more interested in upper grades at Morningside about academics and apply alot of teacher pressure.
APS does not offer pre-order at Morningside elementary, if that's what you are referencing here.
Also, not exactly sure how knowledgeable your realtor is but the application period is early winter 2018 for fall 2018, not fall 2017.
Also, I wasnt really sure what you mean when you say he is "almost 4." Do you mean he would be 3 when the pre-K fall term starts? There could be age issues with public or private if so. Or do you mean when you apply and he has his interview, etc, he would be 3 but 4 by the start of the Fall pre-K year?
To clarify, Paideia is a 3K - 12th grade private school so when they admit a 4k student, that student is part of the entirety of the program. It's not like a separate 4K that students drop into for a year before kindergarten at say Morningside ES, similar to what you see at Ga pre-K, Cliff Valley, Suzuki, for example.
Cliff Valley goes to 8th grade--I wouldn't count on necessarily being able to drop out and drop back in--there tend to be openings in later grades, but not a guarantee, by any means. It is a sought after school.
I see your login so perhaps you are new to Atl and Suzuki recently. However, this is not a rumor. I considered Suzuki as one of the contenders for my child 2-3 years ago and spoke in detail with the front office about tons of details. They made very clear that their classroom setup is about 30 kids with 4-6 teachers. This was one of the Buckhead locations. They explained that it is a soft Montessori approach but that the children work in smaller groups of about 6 with the different teachers so each child would ser numerous different teachers however there would be roughly 30 in a room. They were very clear about that so no it is not a rumor. That was for children 2-4 or so. I have heard they have opened another location so perhaps you are seeing a smaller class due to that however, that wad straight from the horse's mouth and for that you had the pleasure of paying 1500 per month for full-time. With my husband being a teacher we believe smaller class sizes make a diff even if the ratio is small overall size matters too. We could not see the value in paying all of that fot our child to be in a group that big so we passed and went with something else but no its not a rumor. Also if you were to ask the administration they may tell you they would go up to 30 in a class if they had the demand (or maybe ppl stopped paying for it and they have had to change). There is alot more compet providing quality preschool in Buckheaf nowadays. Suzuki used to be one of very few.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewToATL23
Just to clarify on Suzuki.....I used to hear the same thing about it, that there are these huge class sizes around 30 kids or so. I then actually enrolled my child there and realized that this is just some never-ending rumor. Maybe it was that way in the past, but all of the preschool classes at least at my child's campus have only about 22-23 kids. Maybe that's still too large for some folks, but it has never felt too overwhelming, and in fact the school environment is quite orderly. My somewhat-shy child has done quite well there.
Yes I know. I didnt mean Cliff Valley has onlys4k. My post probably wasnt clear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlJan
Cliff Valley goes to 8th grade--I wouldn't count on necessarily being able to drop out and drop back in--there tend to be openings in later grades, but not a guarantee, by any means. It is a sought after school.
I see your login so perhaps you are new to Atl and Suzuki recently. However, this is not a rumor. I considered Suzuki as one of the contenders for my child 2-3 years ago and spoke in detail with the front office about tons of details. They made very clear that their classroom setup is about 30 kids with 4-6 teachers. This was one of the Buckhead locations. They explained that it is a soft Montessori approach but that the children work in smaller groups of about 6 with the different teachers so each child would ser numerous different teachers however there would be roughly 30 in a room. They were very clear about that so no it is not a rumor. That was for children 2-4 or so. I have heard they have opened another location so perhaps you are seeing a smaller class due to that however, that wad straight from the horse's mouth and for that you had the pleasure of paying 1500 per month for full-time. With my husband being a teacher we believe smaller class sizes make a diff even if the ratio is small overall size matters too. We could not see the value in paying all of that fot our child to be in a group that big so we passed and went with something else but no its not a rumor.
Call it what you will, but I see what I see every day when I drop off and pick up my child. There are only about 22-23 children per preschool class (ages 3+). My child has 3 main teachers. There are separate music and language teachers, so maybe that's being factored in to the 4-6 teacher total? Perhaps the large class size description is the story you got "straight from the horse's mouth" when you were exploring Suzuki for your child, but as you state, your information is several years out of date. My child actually goes there now, and as such I was just at Suzuki today. To be fair, I certainly can't speak for all 3 campuses, but at least at my child's campus, it's nothing like what you describe.
I'm sure you mean well, and I'm not trying to be obnoxious. I'm posting this just so that others looking into Suzuki don't walk away with an outdated/inaccurate understanding of the school from someone who merely toured it several years ago. Suzuki is certainly not the cheapest option in the area, but overall we've been happy with it.
PS I should probably change my handle....not actually that new to Atlanta anymore....
Our two boys attended Morningside and loved it.
We moved our oldest to Paideia for middle school, and are very happy with it.
There are some things about Paideia you need to know--it is extremely liberal. They have no fixed curriculum, but allow teachers to design their own. So for example one class spends a whole year on the middle ages, and another might not even mention the middle ages. But the idea is that through project-based learning they are learning ways of knowing and fundamental skills.
I don't know how hard it is to get into Paideia as a 4-yr-old. It's absurdly hard when they're older (to the point where some friends whose extremely bright kids didn't get in are mad at us.) Paideia puts a high priority on parent involvement, so you need to make sure both parents have hours to volunteer and would enjoy being involved.
We sent them to Bright Horizons R. Kirk Landon for daycare and pre-k, and loved it. But you need to be affiliated with Georgia Tech to get in (and even, there's a waitlist). I've heard good things about the other Bright Horizons locations near by. We have friends who were happy with Kids Condo, which is right in the neighborhood just off of N. Highland (and a group of the kids and parents who went there are all still friends years later).
Hope this helps.
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